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Mourners bid farewell to Leader in holy city of Qom
Funeral proceedings for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei concluded in the country's holy city of Qom on Tuesday as millions of people paid their respects to him after a massive procession in the capital the day before.
Mourners gathered at the Holy Jamkaran Mosque in Qom to offer funeral prayers for the martyred leader and members of his family.
The funeral prayer was led by Grand Ayatollah Abdullah Javadi Amoli on Tuesday morning, drawing millions of worshippers, religious scholars, government officials, military commanders, and other dignitaries.
Following the prayer, the bodies were taken to the Shrine of Hazrat Fatima Masumeh as large crowds arrived in Qom from across the country.
The multi-day funeral began on Friday with Ayatollah Khamenei’s body lying in state at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla and foreign dignitaries and religious figures paying their respects. It continued on Saturday and Sunday with a public farewell and prayers, respectively.
On Monday, large crowds packed the streets of Tehran as the funeral convoy made its way through the Iranian capital.
The ceremonies will continue in neighboring Iraq on Wednesday. Iraqi authorities have finalized preparations for a three-stage funeral, with official ceremonies in Najaf followed by public processions across the holy city and Karbala, where massive crowds are expected under extensive security and logistical arrangements.
The final funeral rites are set to take place on Thursday in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, where Ayatollah Khamenei will be buried at the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam, in accordance with the martyred Leader's will.
Ayatollah Khamenei was assassinated, alongside some of his family members, on February 28, the first day of the 40-day illegal war of aggression waged by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran.
The Assembly of Experts subsequently appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the new Leader of the Islamic Revolution.